| Part Two �C�mon, cut me a break! Just one man; just one shot!� JC was hysterical, on his knees, begging Lance for a hit. �Do it again. I find your pleading horribly adorable. And if you want a hit, you�re gonna have to pay for it, bitch.� Lance then turned toward his friend, Wade. �He�s come over everyday for two months asking for smack. He hardly pays, always asks for an advance, that he�ll �pay me later.� Being the kind soul I am, I give him a fix. And what happens? I end up getting burned. How can I trust this smackhead?� �I feel your pain, dude. I completely understand. People are like that, man. Some of them, anyway,� Wade said, rubbing his nose. �By the way, you should never trust a junkie.� Through all of this, JC sat. He was crying, and in violent pain. He was going through withdrawal and needed a fix soon. His tolerance to heroin had build up considerably since the party just a few months earlier. He started with smoking only one joint a day of heroin and marijuana mixed, then to three of heroin and cocaine. He then began to skin pop, and was at the point of mainlining it. JC was addicted. He stole regularly from his parents to pay Lance once every three or four days, although it was nothing compared to how much he actually owed. Lance looked at JC again. He looked up, tears in his eyes. Wade scoffed and went to the kitchen. �JC, get up. I�ll give you one hit and that�s it,� Lance said disgustedly. �And take a bath. You stink.� He went to his room to get the deck and JC stood up and sat on the couch, scratching at his face distractedly. Wade wandered back into the living room and sat down next to JC. He looked at JC. JC didn�t notice. �What for? What�s the point? How can you do that to yourself?� Wade asked him. JC turned to face him. �Do what to myself?� �Mess yourself up like that. You think you�re so cool with your h and your needles�� He took a sip of his beer. �But what about later?� JC just stared at Wade. He pushed his hair away from her face and blinked. He looked Wade in the eye. �Do you ever feel like dying? Do you ever feel completely worthless?� He looked at the floor dejectedly. �The pain and the bad thoughts and the bad feelings just� disappear.� Wade sighed. �But once you crash, they all come back. More so.� He looked around the dingy little room. �There has to be more in this life than this.� JC continued to stare at the floor. �Maybe you�re right. Maybe you are right.� Lance returned with the small envelope. JC jumped up. Wade sat back, watching the transaction take place. JC took it and smiled gratefully at Lance. �Now get out of here,� he said coldly. JC thanked him profusely and left. Wade stood up. �He used to be so hot�� Wade said sadly. Lance turned to face him. �Now, what�s your problem?� Wade smiled, a small, secretive smile. He shrugged off the question. Lance gazed at him, confused. �Wait a second� didn�t you two used to date or something?� Lance asked. Wade waved him off. �Nah, we went out for a movie and a burger. Once. But he seemed too good, too honest for someone like me� What the fuck happens to a person?� Lance looked down guiltily. Wade sniffed and cleared his throat. �Well, I gotta go. I gotta go to work tomorrow.� �Yeah,� Lance said. �Talk to you later?� �Sure.� Lance stood at the window and watched Wade drive off in his black Eclipse. He sighed, knowing that he could have a nice car and a nice home, but he spent all his money on drugs. He sighed again, scratched the back of his head, and went to his room to shoot up. *~*~* Three days later, JC was back. He�d been busted shooting up in the bathroom of his house by his mom and had been kicked out of the house, permanently. He�d gone to Chris�s, but his mother told JC that Chris was living with Joey. JC hated Joey, but went by their apartment anyway, to see if he could sleep there at least a night or two. Joey had answered the door. JC had woken him up. �What the fuck do you want?� Joey asked gruffly, rubbing one eye. �Is Chris around?� JC asked. �No. Now leave.� Joey had turned around and was about to shut the door when JC yelled, �Fuck you. He�s my friend too.� That�s when Joey punched him. JC walked around and found Justin�s house. But Justin was with his boyfriend, Nick Something or other, and JC didn�t feel like bothering them. So, with nowhere else to turn, JC was forced to go to Lance. JC knocked on the door. When he finally answered, JC said simply, �I�m not here for drugs; I just need to talk to you.� Lance let him in and JC explained himself. Lance allowed JC to move in temporarily. During that time, he was to get a job being a go-for. JC agreed; he was desperate. |